Hi all! I was on the phone with my sister earlier today. We were talking about this site and she asked how we decide what to write about.
Our topics come from questions we get from our friends, family, patients and users of this site (through email and comments) and our own interest. Please feel free to ask us/tell us –anything….ANYTHING!
I know many people may not get over to our Question of the Day page (even though it is one of my favorite parts of the site!)…so I thought I’d post some of them here, on our home page. Ask a Pharmacist!
Here are a few of the Q&A’s…
I had a man come to the pharmacy determined to find baby aspirin -but with no luck! He asked, “What is baby aspirin and where the heck is it?”
First off, there is no aspirin for babies -actually, aspirin is usually AVOIDED in children younger than 15 years old. The term “baby aspirin” is the low dose aspirin which is aspirin 81mg. It is located in the pharmacy area, near the pain medications.
When I stay up late, I have red eyes the next morning. Is Visine the best thing to use?
Regular Visine will “get the red out”. It is okay to use them occasionally for a quick fix. If you use them regularly, they can actually irritate your eyes and CAUSE red eyes. The best way to treat red eyes is re-wetting drops (Visine Tears-Dry Eye Relief). You can use any kind -just look at the “active ingredients” and make sure they are all “lubricants” and avoid “redness relievers.”
Catie and I were watching “True Blood” season 1 and one of the characters had priapism. What is priapism?
Priapism is a prolonged, painful erection lasting more than 4 hours without sexual stimulation. It is due to blood being trapped and unable to drain from the penis. Some causes of priapism are medications, illicit drugs, sickle cell anemia, diabetes and scorpion bites. It can be permanently damaging to the penis if not treated. Priapism must be treated by a physician immediately.
My dad asked me the other day, “Why does it say not to take Afrin for more than 3 days?”
When nasal sprays (like Afrin) are taken for more than 3 days, it can cause rebound congestion. Which means, it actually can make your congestion worse! If you are still congested after 3 days or if you have become “addicted” to a nasal spray, start taking an oral decongestant (pseudophedrine -take care if you have high blood pressure) and stop taking the nasal spray. Feel free to use all the Ocean Spray (salt water spray) ya want! Want the 4-1-1 on cold meds? See the Cold and Allergy article.
What is the maximum adult dose of ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin)?
The max dose of ibuprofen for an adult is 3200mg per day (over a 24 hour period). That’s 4 tablets of the OTC product taken every 6 hours. However, to be on the safe side, the FDA indicates that you should not take more than 1200mg per day of the OTC ibuprofen products (2 tablets every 6 hours) – use your best judgement!
I have a cold sore and my brother said it is the same as genital herpes, is that true?
Cold sores (fever blisters) and genital herpes are both caused by the Herpes virus. Cold sores are typically caused by the Herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV1) and genital herpes is usually caused by Herpes simplex 2 (HSV2). However, through oral sex, cold sores (HSV1) can be transmitted to the genital area and genital herpes (HSV2) can be transmitted to the mouth.
I hear all this talk about people eating too much salt. I don’t usually add salt to my food, so am I okay?
The U.S. recommended daily allowance is 1,500 to 2,400 mg of sodium . Which is only 1 tsp of salt a day! Also of interest is that 70% of sodium we eat is from processed and prepared foods like chips, soup (canned soup can have 900mg of sodium in 1/2 cup!) and fast food. So check those labels because it is not just what we put on our food but what is in our food!
I am a 24 year old woman and I have a UTI. What can I use to treat it?
The typical UTI (urinary tract infection) is a bladder infection that needs to be treated with antibiotics so you will need to contact your physician (ask for an effective but inexpensive antibiotic like Bactrim or Cipro generics). It is important that you treat it because it can progress to a more serious and harder to treat infection in the kidney. For the pain associated with UTIs, you can take OTC Azo Standard ( phenazopyridine) 1 to 2 tablets three times daily for 2 days.
I’m on Flagyl and my pharmacist said that I will projectile vomit if I drink a beer…is that true?
Yes. Flagyl (metronidazole) can cause disulfiram-like reaction…which means drinking alcohol and taking Flagyl can lead to projectile vomiting. Don’t drink and drive and don’t drink and take Flagyl.
How do I take plan B?
You take 1 tablet now then the second tablet in 12 hours.
*** Any random questions? Leave us a comment! ***